The Deuce (2017–…): Season 3, Episode 8 - Finish It - full transcript

Mike...

Let's enjoy this vibe.

I'm outta money.

What would you do
if you were me?

A Lori Madison cameo is only
gonna raise you so much money.

What you got in mind, Larry?

The return of Candy Renee.

Adult entertainment is
no longer a growth industry in Midtown.

If you're supporting any
of these undesirable elements,

we will be there for you.

In our business,



when you're wrong,
you don't get to retire.

The fact is, me and you
know things about each other.

So as long as we keep those
to ourselves, we're good.

I don't have a family.

I don't have a man.

This is all I am.

You got it?

Hey, kids.

So this is where the porn
comes in. How you feeling?

Damn. Um...

I didn't imagine it like this.

No? How'd you imagine it?

Some silly-ass porn, you know?

People fuckin' on clean sheets
'cause they wanna.



Happy shit like that.

That's not what this is.

Why don't we do the scene,
but leave out the sex?

I mean, the real sex.
We just pretend.

This is porn.
I'm a pornographer.

I got some of my own money
tangled up in this,

but, to tell you the truth,
I got a lot of backers

that are gonna want to see
some actual fucking on screen.

You okay?

Can I get a roll of
G-tape here? It's not sticking.

Talk to me, Jamie.

Okay. Well, when I signed up
for this,

I thought I would be okay
with doing a fuck film.

- Uh-huh.
- But, like Bryan said,

I thought it would be fun sex.

I didn't think that the script
would get so dark.

- It's a tragedy.
- Yeah, it is.

There's not a lot
of tragedy in porn.

You guys like each other?

What?

Do you like each other
as actors, as people?

You get along?

- Bryan's great.
- Yeah, yeah, it's all good.

So, what happens in front
of the camera is acting,

and it might even be great
acting if you guys get there.

Or fuck it, we could bag
this whole thing and go home.

That's cool too.

I'm sorry. I'm...

I'm done with, I don't know,
trying to convince people

to do shit they don't wanna do
on camera.

Some people are fine with
anything. Some people ain't.

I'm...

Some people think they're fine,

and they're
bullshitting themselves.

So, why don't you take
a minute and consider?

And I will be fine with
whatever you decide.

Hey.

Hey, how you feeling?

Tired.

- Hey, how was work?
- I'm learning.

Figuring out the mood swings
of the director

and the head of the department.

Yeah,
some of them creative types

got more personalities
than Sibil.

Hey, come here.

I, um...

I wanna talk to you
about something.

It's not your favorite subject,
but we should speak

on my arrangements, in case
I start to lose my goddamn mind.

All right.

About five years ago,
this cute young man

came knocking at my door
selling insurance.

I don't mind telling you
I bought a policy

'cause I liked the way
he filled out his slacks.

Didn't cost me but nine dollars
a month,

and the upshot is, I own a term
thing worth 15,000 dollars,

payable when I pass.

I wanna put you on
as the beneficiary.

I want you to use that money
to give me a proper burial,

not in some ghetto cemetery with
hypos and forties on my grave.

Some place that
gets the sunshine.

Okay.

And whatever's left over,
you can keep.

It might help you out some.

I'll see if I can get you on
the lease here, too,

so you don't have to move out.

I have an idea.

What?

- Let's get married.
- Oh, God, don't play with me.

I'm not.

Marry me, Rich. I love you.
You love me, don't you?

Yes.

Yeah.

Then that's settled, then.

I mean, we'd better get
the ball rolling.

Oh, no question. I wanna be
awake for our parties.

Where's it gonna be, girl?

Right out back,
in the courtyard.

Wait, with all them weeds
and shit?

I'll clean it up
and make it great, I promise.

Okay.

That was different.

He popped out of the car,

and was like, "Yo, I'm Tommy!"

- What?
- I don't know, man.

I don't know! You know?

You're so fucking sexy.

You don't... Steven.
You don't wanna go back inside?

The late set.

The late set?

We could go somewhere.

- Evie.
- Yeah?

Evie, Evie, come on.

Get me ready. Mm?

- Right here?
- Yeah.

Come on.

Mike.

Oh, Jesus.

The mayor's not ready to send

that message
to the gay community.

Why the hell not? Is this
or is this not a health crisis?

It's very much a health crisis,
but closing the bathhouse

and the bars won't do anything
to address that crisis.

All that will do is send
transmission of the virus

into places where we can't do
interventions and education.

And the mayor's okay running

for reelection on a platform
of doing nothing about AIDS?

The point is not to do something

just to be seen doing it,
Inspector.

Course not.

The point is to do
the right thing.

We could start...

Wouldn't closing them at least
send a signal that this is,

in fact, a health crisis?

Don't we know that already?

- Yeah.
- Mm-hm.

What about
in my part of the world?

I mean, you can say that we have
the education

and intervention programs
going down

in the Village bars and baths,

but no-one is doing anything
like that.

And the peeps and the parlors
around Midtown,

they're acting like it's
business as usual.

- Well, it's because it is.
- Excuse me?

Look, Gene,
I know that Life magazine

told us that anyone can
get AIDS, but we're already

starting to see secondary
and tertiary cases,

and it's pretty clear
to my researchers

that it is not being

effectively transmitted
through heterosexual sex.

I mean, it's just not true.

We'd be seeing a lot more cases
in that cohort if it were.

There... There are no
heterosexual outbreaks

- anywhere in the city.
- Good to know.

No cases at all? I mean,
I... I hear a lot of stories

about prostitutes.

Well... Yeah, okay, we have

plenty of guys who are
self-reporting they got it

from hookers, but you know what?

When my department looks into
those cases,

- guess what they find out.
- Is it true?

The fact is,
the mayor's willing to take

any action that
the public health professionals

advise him to take,
and what they're saying,

right now, those professionals,

is that closing the baths
won't help.

What if these whores you sent me
don't work out?

If you don't like, tell me.
I have others to replace them.

- What's their cut?
- They can keep their tips.

- That's it?
- Mm.

- They might not like that.
- Fuck what they don't like!

They ain't gonna run out on me,
are they?

Like, hop on a freighter
back to Russia?

This is why they don't run.

Let's go take another look.

This group for first shift.
I have another five for tonight.

You send your driver, eh?

Sure. My man, Black Frankie, can
run them out and pick them up.

Vasily. Ain't you got any
blondes in the mix?

Some of my customers got
preferences.

Dye their hair! I give no fuck.

You hear that, Bernice?
You can supervise that.

Yeah. Sure.
I'll get right on it.

So, partners?

Well, Bill, I have lived long
enough to hear the Deputy Mayor

of New York City say aloud,
in mixed company, that the point

of a political decision
is to do the right thing.

Like everyone in the room
came into town on a turnip cart.

Yeah. The... What the hell is
the right thing, here?

Who can say?

Whatever it is, Ed Koch isn't
looking for it.

If he closes the bathhouses,

he'll lose half
the gay community.

Which'll damn near be ready
to out him

for being an unmarried
downtown bachelor.

And if he doesn't, the rest
of New York looks on him

like he was too scared
to act in the midst

- of a goddamn plague.
- Well, what would you do?

I mean, if you were in
the closet

the way everybody thinks
Ed Koch is in the closet?

- Me?
- Mm-hm.

I would do the right thing,
of course.

Thank you.

Hi!

You made it. I knew you would.

Well, it was
touch-and-go, actually.

Well, you're here now.

- Mm.
- Want a drink?

- Yes.
- Mm-hmm.

But I'll get it.
Looks like you've got

enough going on without
having to tend bar.

- How'd filming go?
- Hard.

Are you happy?

You know, the thing about
making movies

is you begin...

imagining 100 percent
of what you wanna say.

Then you write the script,
and you hire your actors,

and you gather your crew,
and you try to hold onto

as much of that as you can,
like, 90, 80 percent.

Or, today, someone had an idea,
and the scene became

more than I ever
could've thought!

You know, so I think the process
is really...

saying goodbye
to what you first imagined,

and saying hello
to what you discover.

- Sounds like you're settling.
- Oh, never.

Mm.

Talking your ear off.

Oh, Black Frankie,

what's the name of that
heart drug again?

Lomitra. But if you're looking
for the stock market symbol,

it's, uh, A-L-A-B.

Abner Labs. That's the company
that makes it.

You short it, too?

I'm not a gambler, but if I was,
I wouldn't bet to lose.

Here it is.

Went down 50 cents yesterday.
See?

You oughta get on
this gravy train!

I keep my money.

Darling, do me a favor.
Kiss that part of the paper

right there, for good luck.

Sure.

- You look nice with blonde hair.
- Mm. Thanks millions.

I bet you'd look really good
in a fur coat. And on one, too.

Buy your wife a fur coat.

I have. But she isn't
very appreciative.

Truth is, my wife doesn't
understand me.

Maybe... she understand
you very good.

Come on, let's go in the back.

Nyet.

It's not about what I think,
it's not about some

- petty bourgeois morality...
- Hank.

Of which you think I'm guilty.

It's not that. Um...
I've been offered, uh...

an inside position.
Executive vice president,

Lehman Brothers, supervising
acquisitions and mergers.

You know, I'm...
I'm thinking I'm gonna bite.

Um... I mean, the kind of deals
that I can work up

with the leverage of a big house
like that behind me...

Um...

There's a whole...

social framework that goes
with a boardroom.

- There's a certain decorum.
- A decorum?

It's bullshit to me. But...

But you need a better class
of woman on your arm.

No. No! I need you. I want you.

And frankly, I was willing to
stare down the kind of gossip

that goes with an avant-garde
creator of filmed erotica,

because fuck them if they
can't deal. I can.

Mm-hmm. But if I'm
fucking on film...

Is that so hard to understand?

So, it's okay for me to ask
other people to fuck on film,

but if I do it myself...

I thought you were
done with that.

Hank, they paid me.
They paid me good money.

And I spent most of that money
on my movie.

And now, I need to give them
the work.

Please don't do this.

It's just fucking.

I keep saying it.
It's just the work.

- It isn't to me. It's...
- Hank.

Please. We can pay them back
the advance.

- Please, Eileen.
- Don't do this!

- It's just money!
- I told you!

Please, just let me pay
them back!

Let me pay for your
goddamn movie!

You don't have
to do this, Vincent.

This place is too big.

Everything I see in here
reminds me of us.

Hell, Abby,
you liked this apartment

much better than I did.

Where will you go?

There's a spot over on 47th
between the 8th and 9th.

Mm.

It's a bunch of actors
and theater types living there.

I think you'd like it.

It's like, uh...

What's the word? Uh...

Boremian.

Bohemian.

Yeah, that.

Come on. Here.

- Feel familiar?
- Mm.

It's nice.

There's one other thing.

Oh. Mm-hm.

I'm gonna sit down
with Tommy Longo.

I'm gonna work out a deal
with him so that...

I take over the Hi-Hat.

So, no more payments to him
or anyone else in the mob.

So, you and I are still
gonna be in business together.

You're still not getting it.

As soon as I get the paperwork
straightened out,

I'm gonna sell you the Hi-Hat
and sign it over to you.

- Vincent.
- It's yours, Abby.

You're all over that place.
I don't want it.

What if I don't want it either?

It's fine. You can do
whatever you want with it.

And what are you gonna do?

I was gonna take some time
to figure things out.

You know, all that...

All those years I was
just pushing and pushing,

they just went by so fast.

I was the king of everything,
and it all amounted to nothing.

We had to break up.
You know that, right?

We're so different.

Surprised it lasted
as long as it did.

Mm.

But Abby...

We had something.

Yes.

We had something, Vince.

I just can't believe that
the goddamn money,

as little as it is,
could matter more than us.

Or is it pride?

What's wrong with pride?

It's the most useless
thing there is, pride.

You live without pride
long enough,

you find a way to use
what little you can get.

Jesus Christ, is it really
coming to this?

Am I not to believe, Eileen,
that this isn't you sabotaging

any possible chance
that you could be loved?

Or that you'll have to love
someone back?

Uh...

So, I've been thinking.

No. No, no, no, no, no.

- Don't do that. No. no, no.
- No, no, no. come here.

Come here. No, seriously.
Hear me out.

I just think that we're
a great fit.

You know? Right?

Don't you think?

Really, to tell you the truth,
I...

I like everything about you.

Like, when I get off from work,

I... I don't wanna come home
to an empty apartment.

I wanna see you.

I'm thinking that maybe
we could pool our resources

and move into one place.
How's that sound?

- Sweet.
- Yeah.

But no.

Why not?

I lived with someone
for a long time,

and I don't want that now.

I'm sorry, but I don't know
if I ever will want it again.

I want you for your friendship
and companionship,

and for the physical part,

but I don't need
a full-time man.

I'm good where I'm at.

The physical part, though...

it's pretty good, though, right?

Gracias, Mami, but, um...

I'm not gonna give up.

You know I'm gonna
keep asking, right?

- I know.
- Right?

- Hey.
- Kennedy. Which terminal, ma'am?

Uh... Yeah, whichever one's
continental. Thank you.

Next weekend.

I understand you brought
a clip with you?

- Set this up for us.
- Okay.

Okay, so, I married too fast...

You'll open the box,

and have that diamond moment.
You really will...

Perfect pancake is lightweight,

fits easily in one pan,

and flips picture-perfect
pancakes every time...

Governor Cuomo

will allow
city health inspectors

to catalog any such location
as a public nuisance.

In response
to the state's decision,

Mayor Koch
appears to be reconsidering

his earlier position,

which allowed the bathhouses
to remain open,

telling the New York Times,
quote,

- "We want to save lives."
- I'll be goddamned.

State officials
have said they will support

local enforcement efforts

which will involve regular
inspections of bathhouses...

That's it for Paul.

I should call him, poor bastard.

What I don't get is,
who the fuck is still going

to those bathhouses anyway?

I mean, unless you wrap yourself
in cellophane first.

Well, never mind that.
They got your man.

He ain't my man.
Castellano... He's the past.

And Tommy Longo's got his eye
on the future.

I put my money
on the right guys.

You stick with me, Vincent, I'm
gonna make you so much money.

Your girlfriend will be wearing
chinchilla panties.

I'm single, Tommy.

Oh, yeah. That's right. I heard.

It's just as well.
Abby... I mean, she's beautiful.

But there's a lot of
good-looking broads out there.

I hope you learned your lesson.

You handled her all wrong.

Did I ask for your advice?

No, but I'm gonna
give it to you anyway.

Uh-huh.

You treat a whore like
a princess,

and a princess like a whore.

Yeah. Abby was too smart.

You shoulda knocked her down
a notch or two.

That's how you keep a woman.

- You ever been married, Tommy?
- Do I look like a moron?

Come on. Let's get out of here.

She's got cans out to here,
and it's her birthday tomorrow.

You doing something special
for her?

Yeah. I'm gonna give her
a pearl necklace.

Joseph Dwyer and Trent Crandall.

Thanks for being together
and making this easy on us.

What is this?

You're under arrest for violation
of the Securities Act of 1934,

- specifically insider trading.
- What the fuck?

Mr. Crandall,
we've been surveilling

the market activities
of your cousin,

an employee of Abner Labs.

He'd been shorting large
amounts of Abner stock,

as have you
and your friend here.

- The kid too?
- 1934? Oh.

- Oh, fuck.
- You're probably unaware that your cousin's also been

selling it off this week. It seems
like Lomitra is going to be approved.

Bullshit. What about
the side effects...

Joey, shut the fuck up.

I should've never trusted you,

listened to you
and your rat-fucking cousin.

Joey?

So, what are you saying?
You wanna close down

the places that aren't
even spreading the disease?

That is exactly what I'm saying.

Gene, we barely have
the resources

to get padlocks on the doors
of all the gay bathhouses

and back rooms.

In every problem,
there is opportunity.

And right now, because this
is being called

a public health emergency,

we have the opportunity
to throw padlocks

on the massage parlors
in Midtown

where we have
pending litigation.

No unending process of appeals,
because we are addressing

the spread of a deadly
communicable disease.

And like that,

the plans to redevelop
the middle of Manhattan

take a great and irreversible
leap forward.

Plus, we deliver political
cover to the mayor

in the middle
of an election year.

How so?

He's about to take a raft
of shit from the gay community

that supported him.

They'll be infuriated
when the bathhouses close.

But less so if he's also
simultaneously closing

the straight massage parlors
in Times Square.

He does that, and no-one can say
it's homophobic.

No, it's a... public health
concern only.

- What say you, Pete?
- I'll say what I always say.

This mayor's gonna do
the right thing.

You got it.

- Oh, hey!
- Hey!

How you doing?

Oh, hell! The money we could've
made on you

if you'd been shooting scenes
the past ten years! Mm!

- Too kind, Larry.
- Not at all. Look at you, babe!

Gentlemen, this is one hell
of a dance card.

I mean, I've got two straight
fuck-and-sucks, one lesbian,

an anal... I mean, you fucking
said no anal.

I was trying to close the deal!

One anal, and then DP,
and then...

I mean, before you
stick a fork in me,

a goddamn six-on-one gangbang
where every swinging dick

uses me for target practice?
Are you fucking kidding me?

Come on, honey, that's pretty
standard nowadays.

For some twenty-something,
maybe, with lint in her head.

You got me for two days.

This is four days of fucking.

For the fee we're paying
on the return of Candy Renée?

Really? Seriously.

I'm gonna cheat a condom
on the anal.

Cool. As long as we don't
see it.

You are a good sport.

That's my job, Darrell.

What do you guys want?

Under the
decree of the City of New York,

we're closing
this establishment immediately

as a public health nuisance.

Gather your personal items,
cash, and any valuables

and vacate the premises.

Once padlocked, you won't be
permitted to re-enter.

You're shitting me.

Oh! Oh, you're amazing!

- Oh, fuck me!
- I've dreamed about you for years!

Can you handle all of
this, Miss Renée?

- Oh, yeah!
- Yes!

I'm gonna get the inserts
separately, but Candy,

we're gonna get it in the wide
if you take it in both.

Just shut up and shoot.

She's got a sense
of humor. I love this.

I don't suppose I have
any recourse.

You can fight it in court
after the fact, but by then...

Yeah, all my clientele
will be gone?

It's not too sporting, is it?

I'm guessing they're only
targeting the gay businesses?

Actually, no.

We're also padlocking some
of the parlors up in Midtown.

Koch can't afford to give
the impression

that he was anti-homosexuals.

- Everyone takes a hit.
- Well, shit.

We all know Koch is on the side
of gay men.

And underneath them.
And on his knees.

But you know all about
being closeted, Gene.

Fair enough. Though I am
out of the house, now,

if that matters.

Not to me.

Why are you here?

- To say I'm sorry.
- Well, fuck you.

- I'm not a hypocrite.
- Uh-huh.

You know, I've had my fun here,
and over at your bar,

and everywhere else downtown.

Yeah.

And here you are,
fucking all of us over.

For what?

A new New York.

Yeah? Who lives in that one?

I'm sorry, Paul.

Look out, asshole!

I'm coming!

What lens you putting on?

Forty.

For money shots?
Isn't that a little wide?

What do I know? I'm just a girl
who's about to have

her picture taken with cum
all over her face.

The lawyers say you're
completely dead.

As a fucking post.

Apparently,
the city has wide latitude

during a public health
emergency.

Gave 'em a week, nothing works.

The padlock stays on.

I got to find something else
to do with my nights.

Well, you could try going home
to my sister for a change.

Fuck you.

Speaking of which,
coming to dinner?

- Parents will be there.
- Yeah, I'll stop by.

You okay?

Yeah, just...

Shit, Vin, now I'm gonna be like
all those guys

I used to feel sorry for.

Work all day, home at night.
"What's for dinner, honey?

What you wanna watch on TV?"

What did you think
was gonna happen?

I thought it was gonna last.

Hey, Leon.

Vince.

- I'm gonna roll out, Leon.
- Okay, I got this, babe. Cool.

Where'd everybody go?
All the regulars?

You know, when I was a kid
in the country,

when someone I knew had
passed away, I asked my mother

where they'd gone to.

What'd she say?

They walked into the arms
of time.

Well, if I can't have a beer,
then what can I have?

You can have anything
on the menu.

Well, in that case, uh...

why don't you stand
on that, sweetheart?

Oh! All right!

Thank you!

Hey! How was LA?

Bunch of dicks.

When'd you get home?

Uh... About a week ago.

Shoot took longer than expected.

And your film, did you shoot
anything else?

Shoot with what?

Harvey, I already spent
most of the money.

You advanced it to me,
and I shot my way through it.

So, uh, if you write me
a check for 2,500,

the rest pays you back,
and I'm back to broke.

How... How much do you still owe?

I owe 16 scenes and pickup
pieces all over the place.

- Christ.
- Yeah.

Eileen, I... If I... If I could,
but I can't.

Right? I mean, I got the goombas

expecting me to deliver
their pornography.

I got to pay for it.

I know, Harv.

I'm done.

What do you mean?

I mean I'm not gonna finish
this whole thing.

It's a goddamn mess.

You don't like the stuff
you've got so far?

Fuck, I've just been
inside it so long,

I don't know what it is anymore.
I mean, fuck it, fuck it!

Whatever's up next
for you, Harvey,

will you let me shoot it?
It doesn't matter what it is.

You plug me in, and I will
get it in the can.

I need to pay the fucking rent.

Repeat after me. With this ring,

I give you my promise
that you shall never walk alone.

With this ring,
I give you my promise

that you shall not walk alone.

May my heart be your shelter

and my arms be your home.

May my heart be your shelter
and my arms be your home.

I give you my heart.
I have no greater gift to give.

I give you my heart.
I have no greater gift to give.

And I will be your rock
all the days of my life.

And I will be your rock
all the days of my life.

Now, you may exchange rings.

- She's so beautiful.
- Yeah.

Remember when she used to
play on our team?

I now pronounce you
man and wife.

So, where do all
the Russian ladies go?

I imagine they go
wherever you can still

fuck for money
in the land of the free.

What you about to do, boss?

Don't know, exactly.
I could use a break,

but it ain't like I'm flush.

I lost my shirt
on that stock thing.

Joey gonna be all right?

If he goes upstate,
it's country club time.

The kid's got to learn.

As for me, I guess I'm gonna
try and get my union job back.

We all got to work.

Yeah.

Nice ride.

I rolled into the city in a van,

figured I should
leave in one too.

- Where you headed?
- First stop, Baltimore.

I got a cousin name of Nathan,

lives in the Lexington Terrace
apartments on the west side.

He needs my help.

Black Frankie.

Make it Frank.
Ain't but one of us now.

Frank.

Be easy, Big Man.

Hey, Reg, tell them
about that kid from Iowa.

Big old farm boy. His name
was Clem, no bullshit...

Got something lined up
after wrap?

- Mm-mm.
- There's a Redford movie

coming into the city,
studio picture.

Debra Winger's in it, too.
I'm gonna try and get on it.

If it works out, I can put in
a good word for you.

Although, to be honest, Melissa,

you really aren't supposed
to be working those union jobs.

So, now that we're victorious,
Lieutenant,

where do you wanna go next?

- Me?
- Yes, you.

Seven years is a lot of loyalty,

and I can call that in for you,
Chris. You deserve it.

I don't give a shit. I'm getting
ready to finish out, anyway.

Retire?

I've seen enough shit
for two lifetimes, Gene.

Well, then you can
retire as a captain.

You're pretty close
to the top of the list, right?

We can speed things up.
I can do that much.

The Bronx? That's where
you're taking me for dinner?

Everything we did for you?

I'm appreciative.

Mm. You're not acting that way.

You know it's not like, um,
working at a law firm.

General fucking Electric.

It's not like you can
cash out your stock options

and walk away.

What the fuck you want
me to do, Tommy?

- All the parlors are closed.
- Dead and buried.

Paul just lost the bathhouse.

His bar's got all the Health
Department red tape

on the backroom.
There's no more envelopes.

I'm done.

"Done. Done." How many times
you say that? "Done."

It's over, Tommy.

I mean, what are you gonna do?
Shoot me in the ass?

I'm done being paranoid
about you.

What about the Hi-Hat?

Hmm? We still hold the paper
from those Brill Building guys.

All right, I'll take over
the note. I'll buy you guys out.

Nah.

That's not enough.

You're gonna have to put
an exit tax on top of that.

How much?

Well, let me calculate.

All these years, nearly 15 years

you been running
a cash business.

The bars, the parlors alone.

None of those johns paid
with a credit card

on account of the paper trail.

All that cash, all those years.

You spent some on your suits,
you put some up your nose.

But you're no nigger ballplayer,
Vince.

Right?

You put away plenty, am I right?

So, how much you put away?

Four hundred large? Half a mil?

Yeah. You did all right.

Okay, the Hi-Hat's yours,
but 200,000 cash to me.

That's how you get out.
That's how you walk away.

- And Paul Hendrickson?
- Yeah, what about him?

He walks too.

Yeah, why not?

I mean, none of his customers

are gonna be spending much
anymore anyway.

They're dropping like flies.

All right, we got a deal.

You know it's better this way.

- We part friends.
- Yeah.

See you, Vince.

Victorious?
We fixed nothing, Gene.

All we did was push it.

What did you expect?

That girl with the bar,
the one who ran you down

at that meeting, she was right.
She saw it.

We never fix anyone.
We never save anyone.

All we do is push the shit
to another corner of the room

so people have space enough to
build fresh shit and make money.

That's the only thing
that ever happens.

Someone spends a dollar
and makes ten or a hundred

or a thousand, but the people?

All those shitted-up souls
I policed all those years

and all that mess,
they just hang on.

Every day the same until we need
the ground they're standing on,

then we move them along.

Will the city be better
or worse, Lieutenant Alston?

I'm asking you that question.

I don't fucking know.

What's your plan, Loretta?

I'm about to take
the liquor inventory.

We got to place
the order tomorrow.

After that.

Your plan.

I'mma take the A-train
up to the Heights?

Loretta, I'm asking. Where do
you see yourself in ten years?

I'd have my own place,

maybe a little bigger
than the place I'm in now.

And... still single.

I like Juan. Maybe I love him,
I don't know.

He's steady.

He's a little boring,
but boring's good for me.

And where are you working?

What do you do with your life?

If the city don't
change too much

and we're still in business,
I'd like to be right here.

I'm moving on, Loretta.

In January, I'll be going
back to school.

If you want, I'm gonna sign

the lease of this place
over to you.

Get the fuck out!

Can you handle it?

Sure! Why would you do that?

All these years behind
this stick, I think I'm...

changing the world.
Organizing and protesting.

Donating this,
contributing to that, and...

I don't know.

Goddamn it. Abby, don't...
Don't... Don't...

Don't you for a second
doubt what you've done here.

This bar in this neighborhood...

This place is an absolute good.

Hmm.

Maybe.

Who knows? However it adds up,

let's throw one more thing
to the pile.

Something that's been
right in front of me

this whole time.

What?

Hey, what the hell's the matter?

- I said I forgive you.
- Forgive me for what?

It's no big deal. Forget it.

No, Colin, I'm not here
to be forgiven.

That's not right.

Do you hear me?
That's not right.

Are you ready for another one?

I'd better not.

Why? You got to open early today?

I'm gonna sit down
with the dean of NYU,

to look at my credits.

So, you're really doing it?

What are you gonna study, Ab?

Taxidermy.

I don't fucking know.

Something I haven't
learned before, I hope.

Hmm.

Has Vince been around?

He does come in from
time to time, yeah.

But... not for the envelope,
you know?

He told me I was off the hook
and left it at that.

I'm sorry it didn't
work out for you two.

It worked out fine.

This is for my beer
and my tab from last night.

We're straight, Andy.

So, will I see you at
the City Hall rally next week?

Definitely. We're meeting
here first.

- All right. See you then.
- Okay. Thanks, Andy.

Don't insult me.

I'll see you soon.

Bye.

You know what, I think
let's just...

leave the camera blocked off
and on sticks.

If they don't see the cock
go from ass to mouth

without a cut,
they feel cheated,

like it's not official.

- Hey, come with me.
- What the fuck?

Come with me.

Yeah, it's even
in the script. I said...

The earlier scene
in the script...

Sit down.

Over the last couple days,

I've watched every frame
of your film.

- Every single fucking frame.
- Why?

And it...

I went to film school, Eileen.
Me.

The porn king
of Cedarhurst? Yeah.

I got the degree and everything.
I know what a camera can do,

and I know what a great
story is,

but I can't do anything
with a camera.

And I don't have a fucking
story to tell.

You, Eileen Merrell,
are a filmmaker.

And what you are
shooting... matters.

- It... It fucking... It matters.
- Get the fuck out of here.

I'm serious.

- You need to finish that film.
- Fuck you! Wasserman, fuck you!

Yeah, fuck me. Fuck... No,
fuck you if you don't finish.

And also, take the fucking out.

- Oh, what?
- Because it's not porn.

It's not even close.

I don't care
if you got the actors to fuck,

I don't care if you shot
the hell out of them fucking.

If you leave that shit in,

people are not gonna realize
what you made here.

Oh, fuck 'em.

They're not gonna see it
for what it is.

Fuck 'em!

Take the fucking out!

Wow! You too?

Of all the people to go all
white with shame

over what we do,

Harvey fucking Wasserman was

- the last one I'd have expected.
- I'm not ashamed.

I never will be.
I am a pornographer.

I know pornography, and you
are telling another story.

And you need to finish it.

No, Harvey, I'm a pornographer.

And that mess you watched...
was a mistake.

It doesn't work as porn!
It doesn't work as anything!

Now, will you let me get back
to work?

I got two lesbian scenes
and a blowjob

before I can pack the camera.

- Eileen.
- No. Seriously, Wasserman.

Fuck yourself.

I remember when this was
the Princess Hotel.

You know, that nearly burned
down, as I recall.

What's it supposed to be?

A mix.

- A mix of what?
- Some retail,

some residential above.

Nothing we could ever
make money on.

Now the parlors are closed,
the good nightspots.

And they just closed the peeps
over on 50th,

the ones west of Broadway.

The city's getting scrubbed,
finally.

Mm. Me too, brother. Me too.

I start at the academy
next month.

Thank your man Goldman

for putting in a word
for me downtown.

What will you be
teaching the, uh, cadets

of the New York
Police Department?

Criminal procedure
in the morning,

and... Excuse.

Uh, ethics in policing
in the afternoon.

Vincent! Need a bet?

Me? You got me confused
with someone else, I think.

Yeah, I guess I do.

He was a real asshole sometimes,

but I kinda liked
the motherfucker.

What are you, Captain Stubing?

I'm joking. I actually
like that shirt.

- Really?
- Yeah.

I think you should get another
one just like it,

so you got two of them.

Why would I need two?

One to shit on,
one to cover it up with.

- Hey, Craig.
- Paul!

- Can I bum one of those?
- They're menthols.

That's good for me.

Here.

- Here.
- Thanks.

Mm.

I love this time of year.

When I was a kid,
I didn't like the fall.

The end of summer filled me
with dread, because Autumn meant

that it was time to go
back to school.

I had that thing where
letters looked scrambled to me.

Uh...

There's a name for it now,

but back then,
they didn't know it.

It was hard for me to learn.

I love the change
of the seasons now.

Take care, brother.

With the global
population expected to reach

nine billion by 2075,

scientists worry
that the increased volume

of greenhouse gasses
entering the at...

While their diet
consists primarily of fruits,

such as figs, oranges
and guavas...

- Can I get you a menu?
- Nah, just a...

Hennessy. Straight up.

- Finished with that?
- Yeah, here.

Let me keep the box scores.
But you can have the rest.

Thank you.

The pourers are rigged, eh?

They give you one ounce exactly,
am I right?

No more than one ounce, ever.

I mean, if every drink
is pre-measured,

how you gonna give a regular
an honest pour?

I used to be a bartender.

- Oh, yeah?
- Mm.

Here on the Deuce.
Around the corner on 45th.

You ever hear of the Hi-Hat?

Thanks a lot, man.

It was the spot for a long time.

Had a club, too, down on 38th.

Most nights, we went past dawn.

- No shit.
- Yeah.

After hours, New York City
did not quit.

- You still in New York?
- Nah. I wish.

Florida. I'm here
for my nephew's wedding.

Third time's the fucking charm.

Where's the...

Holy fuck.

- I used to know this broad.
- For real?

Yeah.

I knew her for years.

She was a... regular at my club.

I mean, we were friends, kinda.

A porn star.

- Says she made 89 adult films.
- Mm.

That's a lot of fucking.

And one celebrated
cinematic classic.

What?

"A Pawn in Their Game,
a dark examination"

of a young, working woman's
fragile existence

in the maelstrom
of a volatile 1980s New York

is now, in retrospect,
regarded as an arthouse classic

and has been remastered
and rereleased

by the Criterion Collection.

At the time, the movie did not
receive wide release

"or public notice."

Oh. Let's see that.

She made a real movie, huh?

You didn't see it?

She's so pretty!

She's even prettier in person.
Oh, my God.

And what the fuck
you know about that?

Attagirl.

Attagirl.

Vincent.

- Yeah, yeah, exactly.
- Here he is.

Like I said, no-one retires.

Except maybe you, Vincent.

Bye, now.

I got my property back
two nights ago.

You're supposed to let me off,
Haddix.

Ow!

Look at those meat hooks!

Hi. Sally.

Hey, Ash.

Uh, Chinese or Italian
tonight. Your choice, ladies.

How's my girl?

Chinese!
Italian puts me to sleep.

I don't know, Ash.

Hey Ash, let's go.
Come on. Let's go.

Come on, Ash, let's go.

Vincent!

Bobby. I'm here
for Joey's wedding.

I know! Good you are.

Maybe you can stay
for the sentencing next week.

- I heard. The stock shit again?
- Yeah.

I'd be there for him...

But I'm dead!

- Hey, Thunder.
- Hey, Vince.

Oh, shit!

I heard you made a real movie.
No fucking or nothing in it.

Yeah, I took the fucking out.
Nobody saw it.

Go figure.

Oh!

You look great.

You look like shit.

I know.

The fuck.

Time, you know.

Yeah, 'course.

Yeah.

Come on.

Well, whether they agree to it

or not, you file the appeal,

you can get the answer
in writing.

You have to be careful
with this kind of thing.

The paper trail is what
protects the client.

Richard, whether they agreed
to it or not, you file...